Iran fulfilled their starting obligations under the nuclear deal. They removed and cemented the core of the Arak Heavy Water Reactor, over 13,000 centrifuges have been mothballed, and roughly 98% of its uranium has been shipped out of country.
While this doesn't mean the deal will be a complete success, it's a great start and estimates I've seen say this takes Iran's nuclear capabilities from several months to a year+. This comes at a good time as Iran is having elections in about a month and a half and is good news for the Iranian President and the more moderate side of the country as money was unfrozen and oil exports can increase providing hope for a populace that has historically been pro-US and much more moderate than its leaders. While the elections won't be fully free and open (as the recent disqualification of reformist candidates demonstrates) they do present an opportunity to moderate an otherwise very conservative country. This, of course, would not have happened if we went the path articulated by carpet-bomb Cruz or other conservative GOPers who wanted war and nothing else. It shows the value of diplomacy and while I don't agree with him on a ton, it's why Kasich showed in the debate that he's a far more sensible option to many of the GOPers who talk of "ripping it up on their first day in office".
While this doesn't mean the deal will be a complete success, it's a great start and estimates I've seen say this takes Iran's nuclear capabilities from several months to a year+. This comes at a good time as Iran is having elections in about a month and a half and is good news for the Iranian President and the more moderate side of the country as money was unfrozen and oil exports can increase providing hope for a populace that has historically been pro-US and much more moderate than its leaders. While the elections won't be fully free and open (as the recent disqualification of reformist candidates demonstrates) they do present an opportunity to moderate an otherwise very conservative country. This, of course, would not have happened if we went the path articulated by carpet-bomb Cruz or other conservative GOPers who wanted war and nothing else. It shows the value of diplomacy and while I don't agree with him on a ton, it's why Kasich showed in the debate that he's a far more sensible option to many of the GOPers who talk of "ripping it up on their first day in office".
